They are numerous and thumbing their noses at Wall Street, evidently. And perhaps they offer some explanation for the turnaround in gold lately.

On Thursday, the Shanghai Daily reported on a “Voice of China” radio program that claimed Chinese housewives are propping up gold prices. The program said those women reportedly spent 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) over the past two weeks, buying up 300 tons of gold and helping keep prices steady at around $1,468 an ounce.

It’s not just housewives in China. The China Daily also reported Thursday that Hong Kong retailers were overwhelmed by all sorts of shoppers from the mainland seeking cheap gold over the three-day May Day holiday, with long lines outside gold shops, blocking streets and sidewalks. That echoes what happened in the wake of that historic gold drop on April 15, with shoppers reportedly swamping jewelry stores across Asia. Writing for the South China Morning Post on April 16, George Chen, whose penname is “Mr Shangkong,” wrote of China’s love affair with the shiny stuff.